Chasing Dreams
by Henri Jacks
Summary: During a formal UNIT party, Sarah Jane meets an intriguing stranger. Collab with wildwolf007.


**A/N: This is just one chapter of wildwolf007's series of one-shots about Sarah Jane and the Doctor, titled _When I_** ** _Need_** ** _You_** **. I collabed with her on this, but you can find more on her account (and they are _longer_. And better.)**

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Sarah Jane watched the dancing couples from afar, not really sure what to think.

She had never been that extremely romantic type, but she knew love when she saw it. And she could definitely see it in the eyes of many of the men and women slowly swaying to the soft music played by the orchestra. An orchestra, yes! As a journalist, Sarah got to attend all sorts of events, but she had never been to a party quite this fancy before. It was technically organised by the human resources branch of UNIT, but it was actually more of a formal occasion for a get-together than a military event. Formal enough that even the Minister of Defence did attend (however briefly), which made it paradise for a journalist like her - a journalist who had affiliations with UNIT. But the most formal part of the celebration was over, and now people have walked off to different places, either to talk while enjoying some food from the snack bar or dance to the classic pieces played by the orchestra.

Sarah was dancing solo.

She had accepted being single long ago. She knew that she would never meet a man like the Doctor, and chances of seeing _him_ again seemed to get smaller and smaller with each passing day. One of these days, she had just stopped hoping, instead deciding to hold on to the precious memories she had of their time together.

If someone had asked her about her feelings for the Time Lord, she probably wouldn't be able to give a straight answer. She wasn't sure if she still loved him - hell, she wasn't sure if she _had_ loved him at all - but she couldn't deny that her heart did beat faster when a few months ago she got a gift from him. K-9. She wasn't entirely sure how much the robot dog had meant for the Doctor, but she imagined it wasn't easy to part with him. And the Doctor had decided to give him to her, of all people. That meant he still cared for her, even if he wasn't personally there to show it. In all honesty, it made her heart leap.

Sarah stopped her train of thought in order to get another glass of champagne and, just like in all those cheesy movies, someone else grabbed the exact same glass at the exact same time. Surprised, she looked up at the young man, who in turn looked at her, clearly embarrassed. He couldn't be more than thirty years old, with an adventurous spark in his eyes. His short, blond hair was wild and unkempt, which didn't align well with his formal attire. Not anything special, Sarah estimated. Although she had long ago learnt better than to judge by appearance, she was still having some trouble applying the rule to human beings. So no, she was not interested or intrigued or anything else by the young man. She could quickly dismiss him: dressed exactly like every other male guest at the party, nothing particularly interesting. (The Doctor! Now _that_ was an individual! Especially when it came to his fashion sense, she had to admit.)

"Excuse me," the stranger mumbled and quickly moved his hand away, making her snap out of her Doctor trance.

"Oh no," she assured him with a smile. "It's fine. This champagne isn't very good anyway."

She had to fight a mental battle to prevent herself from snorting at that. What did she think she was doing? That lighthearted tone and warm smile? She barely acted like herself. _Oh, come on Sarah_ , she scolded herself mentally (which sounded in her head suspiciously like the Doctor's voice), _what's wrong with actually having a life?_

The stranger laughed - it seemed strangely out of place during such a formal occasion, but she still did the same.

The music changed to a slower piece - a waltz, if Sarah was correct. The pairs on the dance floor shifted about to fit to the new situation.

"Care for a dance, Miss Smith?"

Sarah froze, staring at the man who was now clearly inviting her to a waltz.

"How do you know my name?" She asked.

"Maybe we've met before," he replied cryptically. "Maybe I'm a psychic." He laughed. "Or maybe you're just wearing an identificator, Sarah Jane Smith." True enough, she did have an ID card pinned to her dress. She glanced down at it, then looked back at the stranger. He extended his hand, which she shook reluctantly. "Pleasured to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, I'd like to believe."

"Then how about that dance?" He asked innocently. Sarah mentally shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to have at least some actual human contact from time to time.

"I'd be honoured," she replied half-sarcastically and immediately hoped that he didn't notice it.

They did walk to the dance floor in peace, however, and soon began swaying to the music. Sarah didn't know this dance very well, but her partner turned out to be a natural, so they moved quite swiftly and, she had to admit, she enjoyed it. The dance was a slow one, as she should expect, and she felt herself leaving all of her troubles and worries behind her as she focused on the music and the sensation of her dance partner's arms holding her firmly. She adjusted the loose sleeve of her black dress, focusing on the movement of her feet for the moment, careful not to make a mistake.

"So, what do you think of the party?" The stranger asked her casually. His face was so close that she could feel his breath on her ear. The funny thing was, she didn't even feel bad about this sort of intimacy. Maybe it was just the alcohol getting to her, or maybe there really was something more to her mysterious partner than met the eye.

"I find it quite dull, actually," she said honestly, though still carefully. After all, she had no idea who she was dealing with. Funny, but she actually found it quite exciting, how she didn't really know who that man was, and yet she let him hold her and guide her. _Just like the Doctor_. She frowned almost immediately at the thought of the Time Lord. What was he doing at the time? Was he still alive? What if he had regenerated? Did he even remember her at all? _What if he had died_ She had no way of knowing, now did she?

"Are you alright?"

She snapped out of the trance, shaking her head to clear her mind.

"It's..." She drifted off, not really sure what she had wanted to say. "I'm fine." She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment of the bliss of not having to look him in the eye. "It's just this dullness getting at me, I suppose."

"I've been to worse," he claimed calmly. "Believe me, this isn't even halfway as boring as parties can get. Back where I come from... Oh, that's simply atrocious."

She quirked an eyebrow at him with a playful smirk.

"And where would that be, Mr. Mystery?" She didn't know that man at all and already they were talking like old friends. She thought that maybe she has been a bit too locked out on people lately. Just because she'd lost the Doctor, it didn't mean that every relationship would hurt. Yes, it saved her a lot of pain, not having friends. But actual human contact proved actually nice. She was having this warm feeling in her and she liked it.

"Oh, all over the place. Never quite did get to stay in one place for longer," he admitted. "The life of a traveller."

Sarah nodded. She knew _that_ well enough. Of course, she quickly reminded herself that he had no way of knowing what she could have possibly meant by that gesture. And yet he smiled at her as though he knew, in the way the Doctor would smile at her whenever she said something he considered adorable or silly (or, knowing him, possibly both) and she found herself blushing deeply. She had no idea why she was blushing and definitely didn't want to notice it or pay it any attention, but the stranger laughed, which she once again found infectious and cracked a smile of her own.

"So," she said in a dreamy voice. "I'm a journalist and I go to places, but what is someone such as yourself doing here?"

"Well, that's quite simple, actually," he laughed. "I simply got invited by a good friend of mine, Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart."

Sarah thought she was going to burst into laughter. She had never heard anyone call the Brigadier by his first name before.

"Which reminds me that, though I regret, I have to go now." He let go of her in a gentlemanly fashion. She was trembling, and she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because good things never lasted, because she wasn't sure what was happening to her, why she was acting like a teenager who has lost her head... Like she was in love. Which was ridiculous, because you don't fall in love with complete strangers. Love comes slowly, unnoticeably and you often don't recognise it until it's too late. She was living proof of that. She sighed, looking at the place where her previous conversation partner once stood. He was gone without a trace, and she found herself feeling a bit frustrated. He didn't even say goodbye, just walked off. She spotted him several feet away, indeed talking to the Brigadier, but she was feeling too lightheaded right now to actually walk up to them.

Funny: she shouldn't feel that way, but she thought that, for the moment, she was actually... happy. It was absolutely ridiculous. And she loved it.

"Excuse me," she tapped the nearest security guard (which immediately made him a UNIT soldier) on the shoulder. "Could you tell me who that man is?"

"That guest over there?" The young soldier asked, and when she nodded, continued. "That's one of them patrons, the wealthy lot." He rubbed his chin in thought. "He had this sort of common name... Uh... Smith, I believe. Yes. Smith, it was. John Smith."

Sarah stared ahead with an expression which was hard to read.

"Something the matter, ma'am?"

"No," she laughed. "It's nothing," she explained, half to him, half to herself. "I just thought that... John Smith..." She shook her head, amused. "No! No, he can't be." She smiled at the soldier. "Thank you for the information."

"No problem at all, ma'am. Please enjoy the party."

"Oh, don't worry." She smiled. "That I will!"

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 _A/N:_ _Hi, Henri here! I just wanted to say thank you to Wild, who let me collab with her on this chapter. It has been fantastic, she is a most amazing writer and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to write alongside her._

 _So yeah, thanks for the ride. It's been great!  
_ _-Henri_

 **A/N:** **The Doctor we were thinking about was Five, but from how little info we gave about his appearance, you can interpret it as Six if you want. (Or you can just assume that it's some very crazy coincidence and there was just some completely random guy named John Smith, who shared many common treats with our tame Time Lord).**

 **Either way, it's fluff and it's new. Not quite as good as I would have liked it to be, but you can always blame Henri xD**

 **For the next one, I'm thinking of Twelve!  
** **-Wild**


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